Growing up in South Florida, I have spent my life by the shore interested in the complexities of the sea and the environmental degradation associated with our reefs and marine life. In my early adolescence, I spent my summers at Sea Camp Marine Institute in Big Pine Key, Florida engaging in marine biology courses and exploring the anthropogenic impacts facing this delicate ecosystem. In 2013, I spent a few weeks on a catamaran in the British Virgin Islands conducting research on the health of coral reefs while comparing the findings with those in the Florida Keys. Through this experience, I became a certified PADI research diver, underwater naturalist, underwater photographer, and night diver. In the past decade, I have dove all over the world, such as Hawaii, Israel, Australia, Mexico, and Aruba, advancing my scuba skills and falling deeper in love with ocean conservation and marine biology. I am now a certified PADI advanced diver, SDI rescue diver, and CRF scientific diver and have logged more than 150+ dives.

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Despite my love for ocean conservation, I desired a radical change in 2016 and moved to the Rocky Mountains to pursue an undergraduate education. My interests shifted as my mindset progressed, and I grew a newfound appreciation for environmental conservation in a political and engineering context. As a result, I obtained my B.S. in Engineering Plus with an emphasis in Environmental Engineering, a concentration in Environmental Policy, and a certificate in Global Environmental Affairs from the University of Colorado at Boulder.

 

Although I lived in a land-locked state to pursue a technical education, my passion for ocean conservation never faltered. As a result, I desired to find a cohort of ocean-loving Coloradans and stumbled across the Inland Ocean Coalition (IOC) less than a month into my freshman year. IOC is an inland movement that builds land-to-sea stewardship and encourages advocacy, education, and outreach for ocean conservation in landlocked communities. I became a dedicated member of the non-profit and founded the first college chapter of the organization to foster a community of environmentally conscious college students. Serving as the Founder and President of the Inland Ocean Coalition CU Boulder Chapter, I coordinated a variety of service events, such as the Colorado March for the Ocean, managed the logistics and organization of various fundraising events, and communicated with the public in order to spread awareness and incite a call to action for ocean conservation in inland states and communities. I also served as the Lead Intern and Outreach Coordinator and assisted the executive director in several management tasks. My experience working for the non-profit allowed me to educate the public, advocate for important issues, and engage in non-profit work through grant writing, fundraising, and administrative tasks. Not to mention, the CU Chapter grew to become the largest environmental organization on campus. 

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I followed my passion for ocean conservation wherever it roamed – sailing across islands conducting research on the health of coral reefs in the British Virgin Islands, scaling mountains in Colorado to realize the interconnectivity of our lands and oceans, diving deep in the Great Barrier Reef witnessing coral bleaching firsthand, and monitoring corals in the Florida Keys. As a Coral Conservation and Reef Restoration Intern with the Coral Restoration Foundation, I helped to restore 360 miles of the Florida Reef Tract through innovative restoration techniques and helped to monitor and maintain CRF's 7 coral nurseries. Additionally, I witnessed the first-ever documented spawning of grooved brain coral, developed a sponsorship list for the 2021 Reef Futures Event, and worked with various organizations to participate in the 2021 Coralpalooza Digital Event. 

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My past role was as the Project Coordinator for the Reefscape Restoration Initiative with King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) and NEOM. This multi-hundred-million dollar project aims to produce the world's largest coral reefscape in the Northern Red Sea by bringing online a 26,000 sqm land-based nursery and outplanting up to 500,000 corals per year. My scope comprises assisting in the master plan of the 100-ha reefscape, researching various methods to structurally augment the reef, utilizing my professional diving skills through field research, and engaging with various stakeholders to spur project implementation.

Currently, I am the Interim Chair for the Coral Restoration Consortium's Engineering and Innovation Ad-Hoc Working Group. The vision of the EIG is to facilitate innovation for coral reef restoration by acting as a bridge between coral restoration practitioners and industry - engineers, manufacturers, supply chains, etc.

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Ultimately, I am interested in the implications of climate change mitigation technologies and international policy to further resiliency, sustainable development, and conservation for our oceans. I believe in the power of ocean-based climate solutions to attenuate wave energy, support infrastructure, promote ecological diversity, sequester carbon, and provide food and habitat for coastal communities. I have faith in the world to come, and strongly believe my multidisciplinary expertise can help us get there. Individually, we may just be drops in the ocean, but collectively, we can generate a tsunami. Click on the link below and let's see the impact we can make. 

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